The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) presents a round-up of the latest developments in child and family policy in EU member states in September 2019.

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Each piece of news contains a link to the original source, which may be in a language other than English. In most cases, they are press releases from the relevant ministries.

Bulgaria: Personal assistance for children with disabilities  

As of 1 September 2019, children with disabilities in Bulgaria are eligible to receive personal assistance in the form of a monthly allowance, which is based on an assessment of their individual needs and the nature of the barriers they face in carrying out daily activities.

Croatia: Youth volunteer project designed to bring communities together

The annual volunteer project ‘72 hours without compromise’ (72 sata bez kompromisa) will take place in Croatia in October 2019.

The project aims to bring together young people from all over the country and encourage them to volunteer their time to improve their community, with projects including cleaning and tidying parks, helping elderly people, and running creative workshops with children.

Running for the fifth year and with the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy (Ministarstvo za demografiju, obitelj, mlade i socijalnu politiku) as a sponsor, the project hopes to promote solidarity, community and creativity among young people.

Finland: Funding increases for child and family services

The Finnish government has announced several increases in the funding available for social security services, including for children and families.

In 2020, €10 million will be allocated to improve services for children and families and further funding has been designated to implementing a new cross-sectoral strategy for children.

Further budgetary changes include small increases in the amount of sickness and parental allowance and funding for implementing the Action Plan for Gender Equality and the Equal Pay Programme.  

France: Commitment to avoid gender stereotypes in children’s toys

Several key actors in the French toy industry have signed a charter containing several voluntary commitments to avoid and counter the gender stereotypes that are often perpetuated through children’s toys.

Devised as part of the government’s council for gender diversity and equality in the workplace (Conseil de la mixité et de l’égalité professionelle), the charter commits toy manufacturers, distributors and sellers to removing the categories of ‘boys’ toys’ and ‘girls’ toys’, promoting scientific games through a new gender-neutral category, and using advertising and communication that is free of gender stereotypes.

Germany: States receive federal funding to improve childcare services  

Twelve German states (Länder) have now signed agreements with the federal government that allow them to access funding and other support for their implementation of the so-called Good KiTa Act, which aims to ensure high quality childcare at a low cost to parents.

Under the terms of this Act, which entered into force in January 2019, each state has the responsibility of articulating their particular needs around high quality and affordable childcare, deciding on suitable actions and measures, and requesting support from the federal government on this basis.

Ireland: Funding for LGBTI+ youth services made available   

The Minister for Childcare and Youth Affairs has announced funding to support youth services that work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) young people in Ireland, as part of the National LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy 2018-2020.

Just under €170,000 will be awarded to services including sexual health centres, art therapy, family resource centres and other organisations with a focus on helping this group of young people, with the aim of progressing towards Goal 1 of the strategy (‘creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for LGBTI+ young people’).

Ireland: Draft Childminding Action Plan launched

The Minister for Childcare and Youth Affairs has launched a Draft Childminding Action Plan which sets out proposals that hope to improve families’ access to high quality and affordable early learning and care in the form of childminding services.

The proposal includes some suggestions for childminder-specific regulations, with suggested bespoke training and qualifications for childminders.

There will now be a period of public consultation on the proposals which will include an online survey, focus groups of childminders and calls for submissions.

Lithuania: Free school meals for all pre-school children      

The ministry with responsibility for social security and labour (socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerija) has announced that schools in Lithuania will offer free lunches to all pre-school children and children starting school (pirmokams) by September 2020.

At present, free meals are only provided to children from families that earn less than a certain income. The new proposal aims to improve children’s nutrition and health in the country.

Poland: More childcare places created in Poland in 2019       

The Polish government has reported that, during 2019, over 27,000 new early childhood education and care places will have been created for children under three in Poland, while another 74,000 existing places will have become co-financed by the government.

These new places have been funded by the ongoing ‘Toddler+’ (‘Maluch+’) programme, which encourages local governments to establish crèches and kids clubs since 2011.

Portugal: Extension of disability benefit to children         

From October 2020, a social inclusion benefit (Prestação Social para a Inclusão) that is currently granted to adults with incapacitating disabilities will be extended to children and young people under the age of 18.

Each eligible child will receive a lump sum, irrespective of their family’s income, with a higher amount paid to children in single parent households.

Romania: New IT system for child protection and adoption processes       

The Romanian government has established the National Information System for Adoption (Sistemului Informatic Național pentru Adopție), which aims to simplify processes and information sharing about children involved in child protection efforts and adoption proceedings in Romania.

Features include the creation of a single electronic file for each child which can be edited and shared by all agents in the adoption process.

UK: High Court ruling has implications for non-traditional families          

The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that a transgender man who gave birth cannot be registered as his child’s father and must instead be listed on the child’s birth certificate as the mother, despite being legally male.

The ruling has, for the first time in English law, defined motherhood as the state of being pregnant and giving birth, regardless of the person’s gender at the time.

The ruling states that there is a ‘pressing need’ for the government and parliament of the United Kingdom to address the question of the status of transgender parents who have given birth.

Europe: New Eurydice reports include valuable information on education systems across EU28          

This summer, the Eurydice Network has released several comparative cross-Europe reports on various aspects of education systems in EU Member States (and other European countries who participate in the Erasmus+ programme).

In July, a report entitled Key data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe was published, providing indicators on key quality areas within ECEC and comparative information on ECEC across the EU Member States.

In September, the network released a report on digital education at school which examines the use of technology in schools to support learning and the teaching of technological skills and competences in schools and provides comparative information across countries.

Three other reports published in September also provide comparative information on the teaching of regional or minority languages in schools, the organisation of school time, and the organisation of the academic year.

Europe: New OECD education indicators released          

In September, the OECD released its 2019 indicators Education at a Glance. Using data extracted in 2018, these indicators provide data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD economies and other partner countries, including many EU Member States.

While this year’s focus is on tertiary education, both report and individual country notes also include information about countries’ early childhood education systems and finds that, across all countries included in the study, over a third of children under the age of three were enrolled in early childhood education and care in 2017: an increase of seven percentage points since 2010.